social

San Antonio’s Carriage Horses Need Your Help

July 18, 2013 | Horse Carriages / Take Action

Say NO to Cruel Proposed Regulation Changes. Say YES to a Ban.

San Antonio Residents:On Thursday, August 1st, at 9 am, please join us at: City Hall, 4th Floor, 100 Military Plaza in San Antonio before the Council Meeting to gather outside, and possibly offer comment inside on a proposed regulation change to increase the maximum temperature carriage horse drivers work horses. The changes would allow horses to work at 96 degrees with no allowances for humidity, and the required rest breaks for horses would be reduced from 10 minutes to 5 minutes. Also, after 8 pm, horses would be worked at any temperature, or if the police chief calls for a “special event exception.” All terrible.

Why? Drivers work without pay unless they have riders in carriages, so regulation changes further torment horses who, when unable to work, are sold to “killer buyer auctions” for slaughterhouses.

Friends of Animals and Primarily Primates sanctuary in San Antonio will offer to place the horses at Texas sanctuaries, if Council members consider a BAN on the horse-drawn carriage trade in San Antonio.

Sixty horses pull carriages on the hot streets of downtown San Antonio – a chaotic environment with swerving vehicles, blaring horns, crowds of people and constant noise. In 2009, a horse stationed in front of the Alamo was frightened by a passing city bus, and the horse ran through downtown traffic.

Whether or not you can join Friends of Animals and Primarily Primates on August 1, for the City Council meeting, please write or call your Council District person below in addition to Mayor Julian Castro and

City Manager Cheryl Scully. Tell them you oppose the horse-drawn carriage trade in San Antonio, and an already inhumane trade shouldn’t be made worse.

Please provide your documentation on horses being sold to slaughter after they are no longer able to work... There are a few different companies in downtown San Antonio are you basing your opinion on fact or rumor or what you assume happens? And supposed animal cruelty.... This is how all of our ancestors got from point A to B at some point. Those horses were worked for long periods of time regardless of temperature! The downtown horses are given constant vet attention,groomed,cared for and have plenty of food and space to roam. So if giving these horses a job and purpose is torture then I guess Americans who are forced to be employed to eat are tortured also... Police dogs,service dogs,mounted police , these are all tortured animals because they have a job and purpose in life? Why not point your attention to the race horses who are shot if they loose a race and not the downtown carriage drivers who own horses of their own and love their work partners.

Because of the use of intermediate buyers, it is impossible to trace where these horses end up, so if you know differently, please document that every carriage horse at the end of its "career of suffering" is somehow magically transported to lush green pastures with cool blue ponds of fresh water and lives out its remaining days in freedom. Even if true, it wouldn't justify years of exploitation for a final few days of peace.
Yes, we got from point A to B using horses, but it is now time to get to point C -- the end of the exploitation of horses and other animals including police dogs, race horses and of course carriage horses.

Please stop horse drawn carriages in San Antonio Texas. The downtown area is congested with traffic. The horses work in deplorable conditions. I work close to one of the horse carriage companies. The horses pull the carriages around downtown in the heat and then are put in stalls which are also in the heat. How can they be taken care of in these conditions? This needs to stop NOW! It is inhumane and cruel to the horses. Let them go to a horse santuary and live their lives peacefully. All living creatures deserve respect and the chance to live in decent conditions.